Manchester City flop Jerome Boateng reveals he rejected Barcelona in the summer

Manchester City have spent plenty of money in recent years, often bringing in supremely talented individuals for vast sums of money. But for every David Silva there is a Stefan Savic, and they have not always got it right.

One such player, however, has today revealed how last summer, just three years after being allowed to leave by City, he was in the position to reject Spanish giants Barcelona.

He told Sport Bild: "I do not know the exact details of how much Barcelona offered for me, but it is true that they wanted to sign me.

"It's hugely flattering when a club like Barcelona show an interest in signing you. But these days, you no longer leave Bayern Munich for Barcelona when you want to win the Champions League.

"At Bayern, I play for one of the four best clubs in the world. There is no better club for a German player."

Boateng spent one unhappy year in Manchester between 2010 and 2011 which was largely infringed by injury issues and a lack of first-team football. He played just 24 times for the club in his one season, only 16 of those games coming in the Premier League.

Unhappy with his position at the club, he left for Bayern Munich in June 2011 and has not looked back.

He has gone on to become a world beating superstar with the Bavarian club. He has won the Bundesliga twice, the Champions League once and last summer helped Germany to World Cup glory in Brazil.

Needless to say, his flop year at City did not hinder his career path.

Mathew Nash

I’m Mathew Nash a 27 year old graduate in Sports Studies and I have an insatiable love for sport. With a particularly keen interest for the madcap world of football I have always been known amongst friends as a beacon for bizarre sporting trivia and knowledge. My other passion is for writing and hopefully combining the two will create a superb and entertaining marriage that will create, divide and share opinion.Mathew is a correspondent for the NextGen Series, Ligue 1 and Primeira Liga.